Feeling her clothing being eased slowly down from behind by Hu Tao, Fang Qiu's pretty eyes brimmed with a clear spring of moisture, so damp they seemed on the verge of spilling over.
She bit gently at her rosy lips, forcing down the strange feeling stirring inside her.
This feeling was so strange…
Strange in a way she couldn't put into words.
Flustered and bashful all at once.
They were only applying medicine, yet it felt as if she and Hu Tao were about to do that sort of strange thing…
And from behind, no less…
As she wrestled with her tangled emotions, her clothing was pulled all the way down, and the cold air rushed in at once.
"Hu Tao, how is it? Am I hurt?" Fang Qiu asked in a low voice.
"A few spots are a little bruised, and there's a scrape too. Let me put some medicine on it for you."
Fang Qiu's voice had pulled Hu Tao back to her senses; she took in the injuries and answered without delay.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded and gave a soft murmur of assent.
Hu Tao dabbed some medicine onto a wad of cotton and gently spread it over Fang Qiu's injured spot.
"Ah."
Fang Qiu shivered on reflex and let out a startled cry.
"Huh? Was I too rough? Did I hurt you?" Hu Tao stopped at once and asked.
"No… no, I was just startled all of a sudden," Fang Qiu said, her face flushed.
It was only that the medicine had been so cold it gave her a fright.
In the lamplight, Hu Tao spread the medicine with a gentle touch.
Off to the side, Tingyu lay sprawled atop a Jumpy Dumpty, watching quietly.
Under Hu Tao's gentle movements, the medicine was soon fully applied.
Once she had finished, Hu Tao covered the wound with a piece of light gauze, and only then helped Fang Qiu put her clothing back on.
Feeling her lower body wrapped in clothing once more, Fang Qiu felt a good deal more at ease.
As expected, having something on really did make her feel safer.
Clothing truly was one of humanity's greatest inventions.
"There, done."
Hu Tao put the medicine away and returned it to its place.
"Hu Tao, thank you for just now," Fang Qiu said, her face red.
"It's nothing, nothing at all."
Hu Tao sat down beside Fang Qiu and asked, "Have you had dinner?"
"I have."
Looking at Hu Tao's smiling face, much of the fluster in Fang Qiu's chest melted away, and she answered with a smile.
"What did you eat?" Hu Tao asked.
"Plain noodles."
"'Plain'…? Bare…?"
At Fang Qiu's answer, Hu Tao froze despite herself, her gaze drifting downward on reflex, sliding slowly from Fang Qiu's still-flushed little face.
Feeling the faintly predatory quality of Hu Tao's gaze, Fang Qiu felt her face burn.
Of course she knew why Hu Tao was looking at her like that…
For a moment she had no idea how to react, and could only let Hu Tao look, her face crimson with embarrassment.
Thankfully, Hu Tao didn't look for long before drawing her gaze back.
"Oh, right, Fang Qiu — I finished reading anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day," Hu Tao said suddenly.
"How was it? Did you like it?" Fang Qiu blinked, then smiled and asked.
By rights, anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day fit the spirit of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor rather well.
Though Hayama Meiko still clung dearly to Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi and the rest of her friends…
she had to reincarnate in order to meet them again in the next life.
"I liked it. You wrote it specially, after all."
Hu Tao said with a nod.
"That's good, then," Fang Qiu said with a light laugh.
And so they sat chatting before the fireplace. Tingyu stretched lazily, flopped down on a Jumpy Dumpty, and closed its eyes.
The flames in the fireplace blazed away.
They talked for a long while.
Then a wave of drowsiness swept over her.
After bidding Hu Tao good night, Fang Qiu made her way back to her own room, while Hu Tao went to the room Fang Qiu had set aside for her.
Back in her room, having shut the door, Fang Qiu walked over to the full-length mirror and slowly slipped off her clothing.
Without thinking, she touched the spot where Hu Tao had applied the medicine, and a faint sting answered.
Fang Qiu bit gently at her moist red lips, gazing at her own flushed, pretty face in the mirror.
This feeling really was so strange…
Could it be that she…
Her thoughts in a tangle, she pulled a nightdress from the wardrobe and put it on, meaning to sleep her worries away.
But the moment she had it on, a tightness clamped around her chest.
"Ah."
Fang Qiu's legs went weak and she dropped straight onto the carpet, hurriedly tugging at the switch at her waist.
Only then did the tightness at her chest gradually ease.
Looking down at the nightdress on her body — the one Sister Ying'er had given her a while back — Fang Qiu felt rather helpless.
The nightdress had broken before, and she'd taken it to Sister Ying'er, who had mended it for her.
But even mended, she'd never worn it again.
It had just hung there in the wardrobe.
Her head had been so full of strange thoughts just now that she'd grabbed the wrong nightdress by mistake…
Still, she had it on now, and couldn't be bothered to change again.
She climbed carefully into bed and pulled the covers up.
Sleepiness came creeping over her soon after.
Just as Fang Qiu was about to drift off, a series of shrieks outside the window tore through the silence, and the drowsy Fang Qiu was jolted wide awake.
After that, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The moment she closed her eyes, the eerie scenes she'd watched in her past life — after her Big Sister had tricked her into it — would rise up before her.
Take that female ghost called Kayako, clinging to the ceiling — the whole ceiling crawling with hair, and directly above the bed, a ghastly white ghost-face.
Once a person lay down on the bed, they would see that uncanny sight on the ceiling.
Then in an instant the ghost would strangle them with her hair and string them up in midair.
And then that kid — what's-his-name-o — would come walking out, stand up on the bed, and play at pushing the corpse around.
At that thought, Fang Qiu suddenly didn't dare sleep on her back.
She curled up on her side and shut her eyes again.
This time she recalled another one — someone curled up asleep under the covers, suddenly sensing something in there with them, lifting the blanket to look, and finding a ghost-face staring back…
It scared Fang Qiu's eyes back open, and what met them was her familiar surroundings lit by lamplight.
Thankfully, no figure had suddenly appeared at her bedside.
Otherwise she'd surely have wet herself in fright.
She propped herself up, hesitated, then bit her lower lip, got out of bed, walked all the way to Hu Tao's room, and knocked on the door.
After a moment's silence, Hu Tao opened it.
Hu Tao had taken off her outer coat and was wearing the cool, skimpy nightdress she kept here.
"What's wrong?" Hu Tao asked, puzzled.
"Hu Tao, can I sleep with you?" Fang Qiu said, her face red. "I'm a little scared."
"Sure."
Hu Tao blinked, then said with a blush.
At Hu Tao's agreement, Fang Qiu let out a breath of relief.
Now she could get a good night's sleep.
Hu Tao took the inner side of the bed and Fang Qiu the outer. Still a little jittery, Fang Qiu edged closer to Hu Tao — shoulder pressed to shoulder, thigh snug against thigh — and only then felt at ease.
"Hu Tao, good night."
Breathing in the faint plum-blossom scent lingering in the bedding and on the pillow, Fang Qiu felt a good deal calmer.
Of course, what would truly put her at ease was to sleep holding Hu Tao, or with Hu Tao holding her.
But that felt a bit strange… so she never quite brought herself to say it aloud.
After bidding her good night, Fang Qiu sank into a deep sleep.
"Good night."
Hu Tao answered too.
As time passed, Fang Qiu slept on her side, facing outward.
Gazing at Fang Qiu's back, Hu Tao worked up her courage, reached out to embrace her from behind, and buried her face against Fang Qiu's back.
With that fragrant softness filling her arms — the tender feel of Fang Qiu's body — Hu Tao closed her eyes, fighting down the urge to let her hands wander, and drifted off to sleep alongside Fang Qiu.
The candle flame flickered softly; outside the window, the night was hazy and dim.
A wind passed through, and the thin mist wreathing Liyue Harbor churned.
Carrying the mist, the wind blew over Xingqiu and Chongyun, who sat reading at a quiet open-air, second-floor teahouse beside a river.
"Not bad, not bad — wonderfully written, as expected of Miss Fang Qiu. Even though it isn't a xianxia tale like Sword and Fairy, it still stirs up such a strong urge in me to keep reading." Xingqiu said in admiration, gazing at anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day and lifting his teacup for a sip.
"Indeed." Chongyun popped a popsicle into his mouth and nodded.
"Come to think of it, I wonder if Miss Fang Qiu will attend the Irodori Festival in Inazuma. I'll go ask Editor Bai Qing another day — she ought to know," Xingqiu said, setting down the book in his hand.
"Xingqiu, are you planning to go to Inazuma?" Chongyun, behind Xingqiu, took the popsicle from his mouth and asked.
"Yes. They say the Irodori Festival has even invited Teacher Chalk, so naturally I have to go and see," Xingqiu said, a little excited.
"Will your family let you go to Inazuma?" Chongyun asked.
"Don't worry, I've already got a reason lined up." Xingqiu smiled with quiet confidence and said, "As long as I say it's to scout out the investment value of Theater Mechanicus, my father is sure to agree."
"So that's it." Chongyun nodded, then turned to look at the riverside and asked, a touch doubtful, "But Xingqiu, we've waited all this time and no evil ghosts have shown up along the river. Does this method really work?"
"Of course. As long as we don't go looking for them on purpose, the ghosts will appear on their own. Quick, stop staring at the river — read your book. You can't let the evil ghosts sense you're searching for them, or all our effort will be wasted." Xingqiu set down his teacup and said with hurried, deadpan seriousness.
"Oh, all right." Chongyun nodded obediently and turned his eyes back to the book.
In the book.
Before the secret base, Hayama Meiko traced the symbol for infinity with fireworks.
At the sight, he let out a sigh.
Envying Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, who could still see her spirit…
And wondering whether Xingqiu's method would even work.
Just as he meant to read on, he suddenly heard two shrill screams.
"Ghost! There's a ghost!"
At the cries, Chongyun shot up from his chair at once. He looked toward the source of the sound and saw two men — one fat, one skinny — running in a blind panic, faces like they'd truly seen a ghost.
"Xingqiu, quick."
With that, Chongyun leapt straight down from the second floor.
Watching this, Xingqiu was left rather speechless.
A reason he'd made up off the top of his head to trick Chongyun into coming out to read — and they'd actually found a ghost.
The two of them soon cut off the pair of Treasure Hoarders.
"Where's the ghost?" Chongyun asked.
"Over there."
The skinny man pointed back the way they'd come. Before Chongyun could ask anything more, the skinny man saw his underling barreling on without stopping, tearing off toward the busy market district. He swore under his breath and hurried after him.
In the space of a few breaths, they'd vanished.
Leaving Chongyun standing there alone, frazzled in the wind.
"Over there — where's 'over there'…"
Though all he had was a rough direction, Chongyun still led Xingqiu all the way to a spot not far outside Fang Qiu's home.
And yet they saw nothing at all…
"Empty-handed again," Chongyun said with a sigh.
"Want to come to Inazuma with me? Maybe you'll get to see an Inazuman ghost," Xingqiu said.
"I'm not going. As a member of an exorcist family, I can't just leave Liyue as I please." Chongyun shook his head.
"Fair enough, then." Xingqiu glanced off toward distant Mondstadt and murmured, "I wonder if Teacher Chalk will go to the Irodori Festival in Inazuma."
At this moment.
Mondstadt.
The night was fine, and the wind was rowdy indeed.
The windmills spun round and round with the wind.
Inside the alchemy laboratory.
"The human soul, is it?"
Albedo set down the copy of anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day he'd just finished and murmured.
Ever since he'd had a hand in producing Fang Qiu's Your Name, he'd read through every one of her works.
He had to admit.
There seemed to be a unique power in Fang Qiu's books, one that could stir a person's emotions.
He turned his gaze to the invitation from Inazuma lying on the desk, thought for a moment, and said to himself, "I suppose I'll make a trip to Inazuma after all."
Just as he was wondering whether Fang Qiu would attend the Irodori Festival in Inazuma, a knock came at the door.
"Come in," Albedo said.
As his words faded, the door opened, and a young woman in Mondstadt scholarly attire walked in — glasses, green hair, and a pair of beast ears.
"Teacher Albedo, I've developed a new type of reagent. It's called the Type 4308 Snow-Inducing Anemo Unit, Mark II."
Holding a vial of reagent, the young woman walked toward Albedo — her face haggard, as if she hadn't slept in days, yet her eyes shining bright.
But she'd taken only two steps when her left foot caught her right and she pitched straight forward onto the floor. The vial of "Type 4308 Anemo Unit Mark II" hit the ground with a bang and shattered to pieces.
At once, Anemo and Cryo elements scattered loose into the air.
Albedo lifted a hand and swept it through the air, and a golden radiance instantly enveloped the escaping Anemo and Cryo elements.
The golden light then contracted sharply, forming a reagent vial identical to the one the young woman had been holding.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Albedo. I didn't mean to."
The young woman climbed up off the floor and said, her face full of apology.
"I told you last time — a sound mind is the prerequisite for studying alchemy. You've gone far too long without rest." Albedo said, looking at the weary young woman.
This young woman was named Sucrose.
She, too, was an alchemist.
Though Sucrose called him "Teacher," he was not, in fact, her teacher.
But Sucrose insisted on it, so he simply let her have her way.
"I know, I know."
Sucrose nodded and put the reagent away.
"Go on, then — what does this… reagent of yours do?" Albedo said.
"As long as there are dark clouds in the sky, this Type 4308 Snow-Inducing Anemo Unit Mark II can turn rain into snow," Sucrose said.
"That does sound rather interesting. Tell me more," Albedo said.
Seeing Albedo's genuine interest, Sucrose was overjoyed and began explaining the reagent's underlying principles.
When she'd finished, Albedo offered her several suggestions for improvement, and Sucrose treasured them as if they were priceless.
Just as she was about to return to the lab to keep working, Albedo called her back.
"Teacher Albedo, was there something else?" Sucrose asked.
"There's no rush on this experiment for now. Write it down and come back to it later," Albedo said. "I have a few books here — take them back and give them a read."
"Are they study materials?" Sucrose asked.
"They're novels," Albedo said.
"Huh?" Sucrose was a bit puzzled.
"You've been overworking lately, pushing your body to its physical limits again and again. You can't go on like this." Albedo said, "Didn't you say before that even on a break you wouldn't know what to do with yourself? You could read a novel."
"This…" Sucrose hesitated.
"The author of these books once said something — rest is for the sake of better work, and endless grinding alone will never produce a good book. Alchemy is the same. Without proper rest, no flash of inspiration will strike for your alchemy, and you're also more prone to mishandling things and courting danger," Albedo said.
"All right, I understand. I'll give it a try."
Sucrose nodded, stepped forward to take the stack of books Albedo held out, and after saying her goodbyes, carried the whole pile back to her own laboratory.
Looking at the vial of reagent, Sucrose hesitated, then set it aside, took out paper and pen, wrote down the revisions Albedo had just suggested, and turned her eyes to the stack of books.
She thought for a moment, chose the anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day that Albedo had just been reading, sat down on the sofa, and began to read in quiet.
But only a few pages in, a powerful wave of drowsiness washed over her.
It wasn't that Fang Qiu's book was dull — quite the opposite. Fang Qiu's books were very good.
Even someone like her, with no interest in novels at all and eyes only for alchemy, felt a flicker of desire to keep reading.
Then again, it might just have been because Teacher Albedo had told her to.
As for why she felt so sleepy — it was because she'd spent a full four days of intense research on the Type 4308 Snow-Inducing Anemo Unit Mark II reagent without a wink of sleep, and now that she'd finally relaxed, a fierce drowsiness came crashing in.
After washing up, she found a blanket, lit the fireplace, and lay down to sleep on the sofa.
Before sleeping, she noticed the candle still burning on the desk, and with a sigh got up again to snuff it out.
Just as she was about to drift off, a brilliant idea struck her.
Could she use bio-alchemy to invent a lamp that gave light through elemental reactions?
So she scrambled up once more, relit the candle, jotted the idea down, and only then returned to the sofa and sank into a deep sleep.
…At this moment.
The Angel's Share.
Venti sat perched on a table, his pretty face flushed with drink. Eyes closed, he plucked at his lyre while singing the ballad Fang Qiu had written at the end of anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
"From the setting sun to the scattering stars, the tears that ran down your cheeks — I will never forget them… If this is a dream, could it please never end… Come August, ten years from now, I believe we will meet again…"
The mournful sound of the lyre and his voice seemed to carry everyone in the tavern back to that midsummer.
That midsummer when Hayama Meiko departed.
The novel-lovers who had finished anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day and come to the Angel's Share especially for Venti's storytelling sessions — after hearing this ballad he'd set to his own music, many of them shed silent tears and ordered drinks from the bartender one after another.
Among them was Amber, who had come to the Angel's Share to drink together with Eula, Jean, and Lisa.
"Boo-hoo… Menma…"
Amber wiped at her tears while sipping her juice, drowning her sorrows in fruit juice.
Her eyes were red from crying.
"He sings well enough, I'll give him that."
Beside her, Eula narrowed her eyes at Venti, who sat on the table singing the ballad with feeling, and took a sip of her wine.
Clearly this wasn't her first glass.
An alluring flush had already risen to her pretty face.
"Many thanks for the praise."
At Eula's remark, Venti smiled, sidled over, and said, "Since you've enjoyed the show, how about buying me a glass of top-shelf Dandelion Wine? The finest bard in all of Teyvat would be ever so grateful."
"No." Eula refused flatly.
"I'll buy you one." Jean glanced at Venti and said with a helpless sigh.
"Thank you, Acting Grand Master Jean. Trust me, the Anemo Archon will surely bless you for it." Venti said, winking at Jean.
"A glass of your best Dandelion Wine for him, please — just put it on my tab." Jean pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked to the bartender and said.
"Right away," the bartender answered.
"Hmph. I'll remember this grudge."
Beside them, Eula let out a cold snort and said, "If you buy him a drink, doesn't that make me look stingy?"
"Well then — why not buy me one too?" Venti said at once.
"I refuse." Eula refused again.
Listening to the two of them, Jean broke into a smile.
"How does it feel to relax for once?" Lisa asked.
"Not bad at all." Jean said with a nod, "Only, it troubles me to have burdened Kaeya like this."
"Don't worry — Kaeya volunteered." Lisa said with a smile, "After all, he too very much wishes you wouldn't wind yourself up so tightly."
"It's all part of my duty." Jean shook her head. "As Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, I have to serve the people of Mondstadt City with everything I have."
"Never mind, let's not bring that up today." Lisa said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I hear Inazuma is holding a grand festival of literature and creative arts. They've invited Albedo, and I'd wager that author named Fang Qiu will be there too."
The moment she said it, Venti dropped his campaign for drinks, turned to Lisa, and said, "A festival of literature and creative arts? Why didn't I get an invitation? I am the finest bard in all of Teyvat."
"Hm? You didn't get one? Your name was on the list Inazuma filed with the Knights of Favonius," Lisa said.
"Huh?" Venti blinked, then it dawned on him, and he said, "Heh, probably because I've spent the last few days drunk and sleeping out in the streets instead of going back to the inn — that's why it never reached me."
At Venti's words, Jean pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Fang Qiu will be there too?"
Eula took a sip of wine, set down her cup, and turned her gaze over.
"That's right. Are you interested, Eula?" Jean asked.
Venti said with a grin, "If you're interested, this humble bard wouldn't be opposed to giving you a lift."
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